Coupon-ticket-printing machine



IVI. I. HOFFMAN. COUPON TICKET PRINTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 14. 1921.

1,437,592. y Patented 1 e@.5,1922v.A

Wfl/m x I r @talented Dec. 5, lff..

Monats a. normanni, or cercado, interiors.

oon'roN-rroiinrsrnrnirinoJirnonnn.

npincanmifiiea November i4, 192i. serial No. 514,901;

To @Zlio/tonte# may concern Be it known that l, Momus J'HOFFMAN, a citizen of the United States, yand a resident oil Chicago, Cook County, illinois, have invented certain neviT and useful Improvements in Coupon-Ticket-llrinting Machines, of which" the following is'k declared `to be a full, clear, and enact description.y

This invention relates to coupon ticket printing` machines, andits principal object is to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive printing` ymachine, wherein the tipe may ze readily removed ami replaced by other type and wherein any one type may be easily removed and replacedwithout dist-urbine` any ol; the other type.

As is Well understood, .in many lines o'i industry a coupon ticket is employed for rise in keeping an account oit the employees workupon an article ora lotl7 of articles, and the couponsot the ticket'niust be prepared by Writing or printing information upon them, and when it is understood that there may be from ten to tty coupons on a ticket, it is quite evident that the' task ot writing the data upon the coupons is a long and tedious one, requiring great care and skill. The printing; machinejlorming the subject matter oli this specification has been designed to print information rupon the cou'- pons oil" coupon tickets wherein the data on each ticket maybe 4the same or difierent trom that of others oi thev coupon-ticket, or itmay in part be the same and in part vmay he different. The presenty machine has been designed' to facilitate theivork ot preparing the coupon tickets and: provides a simple and' comparatively cheap machine which is easily manipulated and not likely to get'out ot repair. The invention consists in the several novelA Yfeatures construction,arrangement a-nd'combinatio'n of parts hereinafter set forth and more particularly delined in the claims. v i ,y

The invention is 'clearly illlist-ratedinY the ('lraiving accompanying` the specilication, in Which i Fig. 'l is a vertical cross-section throi a coupon ticket printing machine embo ing. asimple .torni ot the present invention; Fig. 2 is central', vertical, longitudinal section taken on the line 2- -2 oit Figi, Awith certain. portions broken out to reduce the len th ot the vieu; Fig. 3 is ka perspective vien7 of a group oi discs employed in ,the

construction ot' the type cylinder of the machine and one ot the type used, the parts being4 detached from each other; Fig'. el is face view oi tivo-ol' the type used and Fig. is a tace view oi? a fragment of one form ot coupon ticket used in connection with this machine. f

Referring` to said dra-Wing, which illus trates `a simple embodiment o'l the present invention, the referencecharacters 10, i0, designate the tivo end frame members oilz the device, which, for convenience, may be in the' form of rectangular panels, provided with feet ll, having,` rubber pads l2 secured therein. ySaid end trame members l() may he suitably spaced apart and connected to gether in any desirable manner to provide a. rigid iframe. n

Journalled in bearing apertures in said 'frame members is a cylinder actuating sha'ft 13, which extends from oneendlot the machine to the other g and supports the type tip'lieity of thin discs, 20', 24k,v 25, and' spacers placed side'pby side and connected to- ,qeth'er by tie bolts' orthreaded rods 15, having; heads 16 at' one end engaging with one endmost disc and having nuts 17 threadedly secured on their threaded ends and bearing` against the other endmost' disc.' By tightly screwing, up the nuts 17, the discs are tightly clamped together and tor all intents and purposes form a cylindrical block o1" body. ltaclr'disc isy centrally apertured to receive the shaftl and at said aperture is formed `vith a. tongue 18 Which enters ka key Way 19 formed in theshai't 13'. rllhis arrangement forms a positive connection between the shait and cylinder, Whe-roby the latter may be rotated by the shaft. c f

The discs arey arranged in groups, there being. as a prefer-ence, tive discs to a group, as clearly VindicatedV in Fig, 3, of which the centrally located disc 20 is greater in diam-f eter than the other discs of the group.. Said centrally locateddisc isy formed along. its periphery `with eqnidis"ta`r`1t notches or recesses 2l, leaving therebetween tongues 22 between which the ytype 23 are received and heid, as will be presently explained.; each side of the centraldi'sc 20' is a spacing central disc 20. Annular grooves are therev by left between the central and outer discs,

as shown. Between each group of discs is a spacer 26, comprising a disc or ring, which spaces the groups apart and said disc or ring 26 may be ofthe same thickness as the discs 20, 24, 25,` or it may be greater, in

`.order to space the groups apart sufhciently so that the type carried by each group may occupy acorrect position to print on the eouponsof the ticket.

yThe type 23 are designed to be removably supported upon the type cylinder', and for this purpose, each type is formed with a forked portion 27, which is arranged to straddle the marginal portion of each central disc 2O beyond the bottom of the notches 2l. The forks of the forked portion 27 are made approximately as thick as the discs ,2lland enter the grooves between the cen-n tral disc 2O of the outer discs 25 of the group. The ends of the forks are arranged to bear kagainst the peripheral edges of the discs 24, and the bottom 27a of the notch between the forks 27 is arrangedto bear against the bottom of the notches 2l of the central disk 20. The type are also formed with lateral shoulders 28, which bear against the peripheral edges of the outer discs 25. It will thus be observed that each type lits in and is confined in the notches of the central disc and bears against edge port-ions of all of the discs of a group. An extremely substantial backing is thus provided kfor the type, and moreover, the forked portions are frictionally held between the central and outermostr discs of each group. The type are formed with printing faces 29, 29, having type characters of any suitable description. 4 4

ln F ig. l are shown two kinds of type characters. On one type are shown chai'- acters 29 designating prices or values, and on thel other type 1sk shown a type character 291l designating quantity, as for instance thoinuinber of articles in a lot.

Surrounding the type cylinder lft is a cylindrical type retaining casing 30 whose internal diameter is approximately the same as the external diameterformed by the type cylinder and g type contained therein. Said type Aretaining casing 30 is 4secured to thek end framen'ieinbers lO by bolts or screws 3l and rigidly` connects said end frame members. 'In the upper side of the casing 3()v is a slot 32 which extends parallel with the axis of the shaft, and extending away from saidl slot 32 along a horizontal plane approximately tangential with respect tol thehface of the type, areiianges orwebs 33 that act as a table or backing for the top plate or cover 84e of the device. Between said flanges 33 and top-plate or cover 34T is placed an ink ribbon 35, the ends of which are secured to the ianges 33 or to some other stationary portion of the machine. Said ink ribbon extends across the slot 32 over the type. The top-plate or cover 34 is formed with a centrally located narrow slot 37, which is directly over the axis of the cylinder and exposes the ink ribbon over the type which are in printing position, that is to say, in a position directly over the axis of the cylinder. A. guide or shoulder 3S is secured upon the top-plate or cover 3a beyond the slot 37 in position to enable the attendant to properly locate the coupon ticket when making an impression thereon.

Secured on one end of the shaft 13 is a handwheel or knob Oby which the shaft 13, and cylinder le may be rotated to bring any line of type into printing position. On said hand wheel or knob are characters 5l, 52, designating or indicating the type characters on the cylinder, and on the adjacent end frame member l0 is a finger having the form of an arrow or pointer, which cooperates with the characters on the handwheel to indicate the printing position of the type cylinder.

F or certain purposes, the cylindrical face ofthe type cylinder is divided into two semi-cylindrical portions, one portion of which is used for printing numbers which may designate quantities and the other portion of the face of the cylinder may be used for printing prices or values or the amount of money paid for performing labor.

For instance, on one half of the cylinder, in one row of notches may be placed type bearing the type character l and in the next adjacent row may be placed type bearing the type character 2 and so on, and on the corresponding side of the hand wheel are indicating characters, 1, 2, 3 etc., corresponding therewith. By turning the hand wheel until the character l thereon comes into register with thearrow 53, the line of type bearing the type character l is brought into printing position.

In the other half of the cylindrical face maybe set up type to indicate prices or values, as above stated, and each line may be set up to print the special prices for performing the several operations on the goods. lThis is because the price paid for performing one operation on an article may differ fronr that paid forperforming'another operation thereon, consequently an arbitrary combination of prices may be set up in each line. The characters A., B, C,

on the hand wheel indicate thefpeculiar combination of prices and by turning the hand wheel until the indicating character them-Qn"@Qrrespondlng with a given combifill rae

nation, registers with the arrow, said combination of type charactersarebrought into printing position.

A spring detent secured to the end frame co-operates with. sockets or recesses formed in acollar mounted on the shaft 13 and releasably holdsthe cylinder in any printing position towliich it is moved by the hand wheel.. y

Any suitable means may `be provided 'i'or pressing the coupon ticketagainst the type or rather upon the interposed ink ribbon, to make impressions upon the tickets, and for the purpose of illustration I haveshown an impression bar 4l() carried by arms ell pivotally supported on ears or lugsfLl-l of the end trame members l0.` Coiled comi pression springs 43 interposed between the end trame members and arms l actto throw said arms upward and therewith raisethe impression bar i() away 'lfron'ithe top-plate of the machine. Means are provided for bringing the impression bar down upon the ticket and said means may conveniently comprise a handle dei, which is` mounted upon a rod 45 rotatitvely secured in the arms itl and having secured thereon crank arms lAG that bear rollers i7 which engage with the undersides et brackets d8 that are secured to and extend up `from the end members and extend over the rollers 47. The impression bar is moved down by drawing the handle ed forwards and down. When the handle le is moved forward and downward the rollers i7 are thereby caused to bear against the undersidcs or' the brackets 48 and the rod 45 and arms are thereby moved downward.-

The impression bar tOinay comprise a tu bular yielding member, as for instance a piece of rubber tubing in which is contained a rigid backing bar, which is secured to the underside of the arms 4:1. y

A coupon ticket, a fragment et which is seen at A in Fig. 5, is employed. As shown, the ticket has a body portion a, and detachable coupons ca, which are to be printed upon. In the operation oft' the machine, the ticket is laid on the top plate with the edge oil the coupons against the guide plate 38 and the handle yift is depressed, thereby bringing the impression bar down on the coupons and forcing them against the ink ribbon over the line of type that is in printing position. The printing cylinderis set to bring` the desired line oi type into printing position by turning the hand wheel until the character thereon indicating the desired line of type, registers with the arrow 53.

Then desired, any one type or any member of type may be removed from the cylinder and replaced by others, by bringing into printing position the line of type containing said type which is to be removed. rThe type y may then be withdrawn by the fingers or by a pair ci' plyers and another type inserted in place,

'ldlhile the type are iirictionally held in place on the cylinder, I have found that by providing the cylindrical type retaining casingr around the cylinder, the type are positively prevented from Vtelling out oi the sockets in the cylinder'. lt is intended that the friction between the discs and type is only suiiicient to hold the type in place when external force is not applied to them in order that they maybe readily removed when necessary.

More or less variation oi' the exact de tails of'construction is possible without departing from the spirit of this invention; I desire, therefore, not to limit myself to the' exact form of the construction shown and described, but intend, in the 'following` claims, to point out all or the invention disclosed herein.

l claim kas new and rdesire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a printing machine, the combina tion of a supporting trame, a shaft journalled thereima multiplicity of discs placed side by side on said shaft and secured there:n on against rotation, and means for clan'rping said discs together to form a cylindrical body, certain of said Idiscs being formed with notches in their `peripheral edges, and the notches in each disc eing in line with the notches of the other discs, and type, having portions litt-ing in and confined in said notches and having shoulders bearing' against the edges of adjacent discs.

2. ln a printing machine, the combination of a supporting traine, a shaft jour- -nalled therein, a multiplicity of discs placed side by side on said shaft and secured thereon against rotation, andvmeans for clampingsaid discs together to form a cylindrical. body, said discs being arranged in spaced groups, each group comprising a central disc notched along its peripheral edge, a pair of spacing discs, ot less diameter than the central disc, located one on cachside thereof, and a pair of outer discs, located one on each si-de ot'said spacing discs, and there being annular grooves between said central disc andouter discs. and type having portions fitting' in and confined inthe notches ot said central discs, and having forked' portions straddling said central discs and entering said annular grooves, and having also shoulders bearing against the edges of the outer discs.

In a printing machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a shaft formed ywith keyway journalled therein, a multiplicity of centrally apertured discs placed side by side in said shaft, said discs having tongues entering said lreyway of the shaft, tie bolts extending through said discs and securing them together to form a cylindrical' body. certain of said discs being formed with notches in their peripheral edges, and the notches in each disc being in vline with the notches of the other discs, and type, having` portions fitting in and confined in said notches and having shoulders bearing against the edges of adjacent discs.

il.. ln a printing machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a shaft formed with a keyway journalled therein, a multiplicity of centrallyI apertured discs placed side byside in said shaft, said discs having tongues enteringsaid keyway of the shaft, tie bolts extending through said discs and securing them together to form a cylindrical body, said discs being arranged in spaced groups, each group comprising` a central disc notched along its peripheral edge, a pair of spacing discs, of less diameter than the central disc, located one on each side thereof, and a pair of outer discs, located one on each side of said spacing discs, and there being annular grooves between said central disc and outer discs, and type having portions fitting in and confined in the notches of said central discs, and having forked portions straddling said central disc. and entering said annular grooves, and having also shoulders bearing against the edges of the outer discs.

5. ln a printing machine, a type cylinderl formed With a multiplicity of circumferential grooves and comprising discs arranged .in pairs with Web therebetween, said web portions being formed with notches in its peripheral edge, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. ln a printing machine, a type cylinder, formed of a multiplicity of co-axial dises placed. side by side and secured.. together to form a cylindrical body, said. discs being arranged in groups each group comprising ay central notched disc, outer discs and spacing discs intermediate the central and outer discs, said spacing discs being of less diameter than the others, whereby annular grooves are left between said central and outer discs.

7. ln a printing machine, the combination ot' en-d frame members, a type cylinder rotatively supported thereby and formed with sockets in its peripheral face for the reception of type, type removably seated in said sockets, and held therein by friction, and a longitudinally slotted cylindrical type retaining casing surrounding said type cylinder, the internal cylindrical face of said casing being placed adjacent the face of the type, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. ln a printing machine, the combination of end frame members, a cylindrical type retaining casing secured to and connectin g said end frame members, said casing having a slot in its upper side, extending pa allel with its axis, and laterally extending` horizontal flanges extending away from said slot, and a type cylinder rotatively mounted in said end frame members and concentricallyi with said casing, said cylinder being formed with type receiving sockets in its peripheral face, and type removd ably seated in said sockets and held therein by friction, with their type faces placed adjacent the internal cylindrical face of said casing, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

MORRIS J. HOFFMAN. 

